Passion and Desire
by ZaraShade
Summary: This is about Mrs Coulter and Lord Asriel together while she was still married to Edward Coulter. It is in the POV of Mrs Coulter. Its not when they first meet, but it is shortly after it...enjoy :
1. Chapter 1

Marisa Coulter wore a long silk night gown and had her dark hair strewn over her shoulders. She stared at herself in the mirror for some time. _The beautiful wife of a powerful and rising politician, but was this what she truly wanted? _There was no love, on her part, in their marriage. Edward Coulter adored her beauty and loved the fact that she made his appearance to society even more presentable. _Wasn't this what she had always wanted? To have power and status in society? _This was what she had always dreamed of as a girl, but she felt unsatisfied. Ever since she had met Lord Asriel, a week ago, her life felt dull and meaningless. They had shared one passionate night together when Edward had been away and yet she could not stop thinking about him. _It is a sin! _She thought with disgust. But she couldn't stop think of Asriel. She knew her sleek golden monkey daemon thought the same about Stelmaria, Lord Asriel's daemon. _This is not love, _she thought trying to reassure herself, _it is lust. _

"Mrs Coulter," Lord Carlo Boreal said, "How nice it is to see you."

"You too, Carlo," She murmured in her sweet intoxicating voice as she entered the Royal Artic Institute. She wasn't interested in talking to him or anyone else, she had come to see Lord Asriel. _Just to make sure, _she thought, _Just to prove to myself that he means nothing. _Yet she felt uneasy.

"Tell me, Carlo," she said sweetly, "Is Lord Asriel still around?"

"To my knowledge, yes," he answered rather dryly. Marisa Coulter, throughout her life, had wanted three things: money, status and power. She had worked hard to gain them and in her experiences she had always got what she wanted. For she, was a passionate woman with a fierce desire and determination.

Entering the spacious museum of the Royal Artic Institute she looked around casually. Across the room there were many glass cases rowed with artifacts that had been found by various explorers. There were also many intriguing artifacts plastering the walls. A few of which, Marisa herself had donated. She spotted Asriel staring intently at a small decaying skull in a glass cabinet about halfway across the large room. She smiled to herself her daemon trembling with desire in her arms. She walked elegantly and seemingly carelessly over to where Asriel stood towering over the skull.

"Intriguing, isn't it?" Mrs Coulter said in her honeyed voice.

"Yes…" Lord Asriel mumbled not taking his eyes off it. Mrs Coulter felt rather put back by his response, _had he lost interest in her? _She asked herself. But she was determined and persisted with him.

"I was wondering," she began, her daemon sat on her shoulder impatiently eying Stelmaria, "how long are you in London for?" She asked the first thing that popped into her head. Tearing his eyes away from the skull he looked at Mrs Coulter. He stared at her for so long that she felt somewhat exposed, like all her defenses had been torn down. Asriel kissed her almost spontaneously. Her body trembled with desire but she pushed him away.

"I am a married woman," she said in her sing song voice almost regretfully for every particle and fiber of her being longed to be held in his arms. It was an strange and new sensation to her and she was confused. She was torn between duty and desire. _But who is to say I cannot have both? _She thought wickedly, a thrill of excitement ran through her. He smiled almost mockingly at her and wrapped his arms around her. His body filled with the desire for her. He kissed her once more, but this time she kissed him back.

"Asriel…" she murmured uneasily.

…to be continued …


	2. Chapter 2

Marisa Coulter smoothed down the front of her stylish blouse. She felt happy – she felt _alive_. Her husband had no idea of the passionate affair she had been having with Lord Asriel. Everything she had ever wanted for herself: money, status, power. But none of it mattered anymore – _could she be in love?_ But this could ruin everything. This could cause her perfectly set up life to crumble to ruins. _What would it matter if she could be with Asriel? _She would have to end it with him – they were only having fun… _He had shown her so many things that made life worth living…_

"_I love you, Marisa." _

She remembered he had told her, his smooth low voice uttering those words which she longed for and was afraid of. She longed to be with him, longed to be near him. She looked at her sleek golden monkey daemon, their eyes met. He knew what she had been thinking.

She felt suddenly weak. She felt sick. She ran to the bathroom, its sweet perfumed smell suddenly seemed to be overwhelmingly powerful. She ran the taps and splashed some cold refreshing water on her pale face. Her daemon raised his thin golden arm weakly and she pulled him shakily up into her arms.

Walking slowly back into the bedroom she fell unceremoniously onto the wide soft bed. She felt too weak to get up, too weak to move. She had felt off all week: episodes of weakness, throwing up…

_Could she be pregnant? _

She suddenly felt a jolt of panic seep through her body.

_If she were pregnant who was the father? Her husband Edward Coulter…or her lover Lord Asriel…? What if her husband found out about her affair? What would Lord Asriel do if he knew? _

Feeling angry and scared Mrs Coulter walked through the corridors at the Royal Arctic Institute. She had already checked the museum and the dining hall, where was Asriel? She had been to the doctors and, much to her displeasure, she was indeed pregnant. Her husband had seemed happy that he was to be a father – if only he knew that her unborn child may not be his. Marisa was scared that her child may not be Edward's, what would he do if he found out? She was walking briskly; she needed to talk to Lord Asriel. She spotted him at the end of the corridor, a surge of relief rushed through her, he was talking to some other men who she did not know.

"Asriel," she said smiling sweetly to the others, "So sorry to interrupt – but may I have a word with you? It's urgent." Lord Asriel looked slightly taken aback. The other gentlemen seemed not to mind as they were enthralled by this glamorous charming woman.

"I'll get back to you later, gentlemen, if you'll excuse me," Asriel said to the men. He followed Mrs Coulter down the hallway where she turned the corner and stood facing him.

"Marisa, shouldn't you be with your husband?" Asriel said mockingly when they had come to a halt. Mrs Coulter glared at him warningly and her golden monkey daemon hissed.

"Tell your daemon to calm down Marisa I was only joking…" he started but she didn't wait for him to finish – she was suddenly angry with him.

"I'm pregnant!" She said a bit too loudly.

"You're…" Lord Asriel's smile vanished as quickly as it had come, "are you sure?" She nodded slowly. All her anger melted away. Fresh tears glistened in her eyes.

"What will we do, Asriel?" she said desperately. Just seeing him seemed to sooth her slightly. He wrapped his arms around her. She felt safe and warm in his arms, nothing could hurt her, and all her troubles seemed to drift away…

… to be continued …


	3. Chapter 3

Marisa tentatively laid her hand over her usually flat stomach

**Hey everyone! This is the next chapter of my fic (at last)! It's just a short one that leads onto the rest of the story… which I initially wanted to put as one but decided against. **

**Anyway, I'm sorry for the long wait! Don't worry, it won't take me that long to post the next chappie I should hope (which will have a little more going on). **

**Thanks for all the great reviews! **

**Enjoy! ******

Marisa tentatively laid a hand over her usually flat stomach. A small bump had been forming rapidly ever since she had found out that she was pregnant. Marisa had never wanted children. She would make a horrible mother. Edward, on the other hand, seemed pleased, he wanted a son. If only the fool knew it wasn't his.

True, Marisa couldn't be sure it was Asriel's, but that was most likely. The timing just made sense. Somewhere deep down Marisa knew it was indeed Asriel's child. But, for the next months she could play sweet little wife and pretend all was well in their marriage.

She hated it all. She hated the morning sickness, the increase in weight and most of all she hated not being with the father. She desperately longed for Asriel's touch on her skin. She wished he were there holding her hair when she emptied her stomach in the bathroom.

She and Asriel could never be together. Marisa knew this no matter how much it pained her to admit it. She didn't even know if he had ever wanted children. They would both make horrible parents anyway; they were far too selfish to raise a child.

So over the next months, which seemed like an agonising eternity for Marisa, she watched her stomach expand and longed to see her former lover. She grew lonely and unhappy trapped married to a man she didn't love. But she refused to shed any tears over this; she was the manipulative and cold Marisa Coulter, she didn't cry over anyone.

She hated going out in public as she got further into her pregnancy so she had plenty of time to reflect. Marisa had gained power, money and status through her marriage…why was she not happy? She had gotten everything she had aspired to.

She remembered back to a time all those months ago when she and Asriel had been alone in their own little world.

_They were in his apartment in London one evening. Edward was out of the country on business. Asriel was sitting at his desk writing something out and Marisa sat by the fire watching him. His daemon was splayed out by his feet with an amber eye focused on her golden monkey. _

_The scene was terribly domestic in Marisa's mind and she didn't know why she remembered it so vividly. _

"_What are you doing?" he had asked eventually in his smooth low voice. It still sent a tingle through her flesh. _

"_Watching," she replied. _

_Their eyes met and no further words needed to be spoken. Neither wanted this moment to end. Marisa felt safe and wanted in his company. For once she wasn't just the cruel manipulative power-hungry Mrs Coulter, she was just Marisa. She was his. _

Marisa damned herself for letting her mind wander back to happier times. The moments alone she had spent with him talking about anything and everything and just relishing his company. Now, she sat by herself in the empty house she and Edward lived in. She had never felt so hollow and alone.


End file.
